It may be stating the obvious, but these IPL deals for the eight English representatives in the Indian Premier League can only be a good thing going forward for English Cricket.

Though Ben Stokes broke records with his £1.7million pay out from Rising Pune Supergiants, it should be noted that this is still a bit of a gamble from the franchise. This is said due to his international T20 record maybe not being as good as it should be for the talents that Stokes possess.

His average of 22.71 scored at a strike rate of 134 is fair enough given his regular position of 5/6 in the England line up but as a bowler, Stokes goes at just over nine an over, striking at 48.50. There is no doubting Stokes’ talents as a box office player but if you take a moneyball approach to your buying technique, then he is simply not a wise buy. With that said, there is no doubting the potential for Stokes to have a good IPL and for this move to be great for English cricket.

Another Englishmen who also hit the headlines in the IPL auction was Tymal Mills. Once Mitchell Starc had withdrawn from the tournament due to injury, it was obvious that Royal Challengers Bangalore would be looking for a left arm quick like Mills who as stated previously here, bowls very quick with clever variations. The £1.2m payout for Mills could well be justified as RCB look to put together a bowling attack that compliments the top four of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Shane Watson and AB de Villiers.

Whilst Mills replaced Starc in a like for like according to RCB, Kolkota Knight Riders did similar by snapping up Chris Woakes as a replacement for Andre Russell. Whilst there is no replacing the Jamaican Russell (who misses the tournament following a failed drugs test), Woakes has proven to have great bowling skills in one day cricket as well as being more than handy with the bat. Behind Stokes, Woakes was the next best replacement KKR could conjure up and this could be a very shrewd signing even though Woakes is currently not in England’s T20 squad.

Jason Roy’s move to Gujarat Lions could also be questioned by fans of the franchise. Whilst there is no doubting Roy’s ability, was there a need for another opener baring in mind that the franchise already have the likes of Aaron Finch, Brendon McCullum and Dwayne Smith in their ranks. On current form, Roy should open the batting with McCullum as he looks to be the best option but their still seems to be little point in the Lions using one of their overseas slots to pick up another opener, though they may be rewarded if Roy continues the recent form he has been showing.

Other moves for Englishmen saw Sunrisers Hyderabad pick up Chris Jordan which makes the franchise a mouthwatering prospect in the death overs as Jordan looks to pair up with former Sussex team mate and Bangladeshi star, Mustafizur Rahman. The Sunrisers have also picked up Afghanistan’s former captain, Mohammed Nabi and eighteen year old legspinner, Rashid Khan and certainly look to be an exciting franchise as they look to defend their crown.

Eoin Morgan, who was released by the Sunrisers, was picked up by Kings XI Punjab and that also looks to be a wise move as Kings XI have got some well needed calmness among their ranks and another batter to support the charismatic duo of Glenn Maxwell and David Miller.

Jos Butler and Sam Billings return to their franchises, Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils respectively and whilst they both shone briefly in IPL 9 – they will look to kick on in their second seasons at their franchises are both have the real potential to do so. Both are fantastic players of spin and in India, that could well work in their favour as they look to establish themselves in the tournament.

So a fascinating auction for all English cricket fans, the IPL looks to be a mouthwatering prospect ahead of a big few months of cricket and with more English players taking part than ever, it can be expected that IPL 10 will be widely followed in the UK.